Shutter.



I. E. TRUITT & E. ACKERMAN SHUTTER.

. APPLICATION FILED JULY 2. I9H 1,251,593. Patented Jan. 1,1918.

- 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1- mvzazvrga s.

WITNESSES: JOSEP/If 7w v aim M J. E. TRUlTT & E. ACKEBMAN.

/ SHUTTER. APPLICATIONTILED JULY 251911.

1,251,593; v Patented Jan. 1,1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

1. E. mum & E. ACKERMA'N.

SHUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 2.1917- Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- I N VEN TORS.

m m mm W Mm m r. 2. W2 3% WITNESSES: @Wm M UNITED STATES I PA E T OFFICE.

SHUTTER? Application as July 2,1917." Seria1Nd.178,094.

To-aZZ whom it may concern it Beit known that we, JOSEPH TRUITT and .E'MIL; ACKERB IA both citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago; in the" county of Cook and State; of "Illinois, have invented certain new and"useful-improve ments inShutters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to ventilating-fans and particularly'to the arrangement .of the shutters .whereby the openings in theawall of buildings in which these-ventilating fans are installed are closed or, opened in ac' cordauce with the fiow of air under the control of the fan or:blower. i

An object of the invention isto' provide a shutter .with a plurality of vaneswhich are pivotally mounted in-the wall'o'p eningthe f pivot pins of these vanes being: arranged slantingly with respect toayvertical' plane containing the axis of the'shutt'er opening, and with respect-to aaplane parallel to' the plane of the opening itself.

Another object of the invention'is toprovide in a shutter mechanism-vanes, which, while beinginclined: to I drop into closing position, will notexert an excessive resistance against anopeningmovement caused by a flow of airdirected from one side againstthe vanes.

Another object of the invention is to pro,- vide vanes which, when in opened ,orpartly opened position, will occupy adihedra-lfangle with respect tothe planeof opening, and thereby afford a betterpas'sage of the air from the'interior of the building outwardly than with; parallel vanes. which partlyoverlap'each other and which are arranged so as' to swingtra'nsverselywith respect to said opening.

Anotherobject of the invention is to com bine with ahframe structure for the vane supports, a flange or'wall'confining an opening of polygonal contour, in which openingthe vanes are'mounted; The ejdges 'of the vanes also will be'formedby straight lines, which arrangement facilitates the manufactur'eof these vanes. H

Another object of the invention is to combine with this structure 'presentingan open ing of a polygonal area, another; opening of circular area and surrounded by a'n-annular portion of-thestructure so'as to facilitate the introduction of the frame struc ture into thewall of the building; 7

It is also an object of the invention to s iec ili'c ati oif' of Letters Patent.

Patented Jeni 191s:

combine with a frame structure'of this chare actera bridge or web, spanni'ngthe opening for the vanes and onwwh'ich the mechanism foractuating thevanes simultaneously is mounted-,-.whereby,' the leverage of the arms" for dire'ct'ing-the-variou's vanes to open vor closed-'pojsitionis considerably shortened as compared with that construction in which common arm for all'o'f thevanes is disposedat one side of the same.

With these and other objects in view, ems bodim'fents'of the invention are described in the following specification, and; the 'novel features of-the same-are pointedoutin; theappended claims, reference being made to the-accompanying drawing, wherein V Figurel is a rear view of a framestructure"sho fwing the-vane supports and va'nes" in-combination with the shutters and-the mechanism for actuating the various vanes.-

Fig.'- 2 is a sectional vView through the shutter controlling mechanism and-the support for said mechanism, on a larger scale than shown in Fig. 1. i V

F ig. 3 is a view of the frame structure as seen from the side opposite theside from which it is viewed in Fig. l. a

Fig. 4 is a partial longitudinal sectional" view to illustrate the frame structure, the vanes, and their supports; the actuating mechanism not being illustrated in this figure. I

Fig. '5 is a similar sectional view of the," frame structure in combination with slightly; modified portions of a wall in which said framestru'cture is inserted. a U

Fig. 6 is a partial sectional view, similar to F ig. 4, showing a larger portion' of the, frame structure inserted in the opening of a wall.

Fig. 7 is a front'view of a modified frame structure similar to the view illustrated-in Fig. v

Fig. 8 is a partial sectional view through the support for the vane controlling mecha; nism of the modified structure illustrated in F ig. 7 showing the vanes in closed position.

Fig.9 is a similar sectional View showing; the vanes partly opened, and

Fig. 10 is'a detail view, partly'in section; and partly in elevation, showing. a pivotal" support fora vane. e

In niost'of the known hutter mechanisms for-ventilating or exhaust fans, the'variousj-llO vanesiwere' pivotally mounted on horizontal rods in a frame structure, so as to have a tendency to remain in partly overlapping closed position; they were operated by a separate motor which served for opening the same. In the present structure the vanes are pivoted about axes which are nearly vertical, but which slant inwardly and downwardly with respect to a vertical axial plane and with respect to the plane of the opening, so as to facilitate closing motion of the vanes. This arrangement, however, will permit the vanes to be readily opened under the influence of the air flowing against the vane in a predetermined direction. Owing to this construction of downwardly slanting, pivotal axes, the vanes are inclined to be closed normally, but they do not resist with their full weight the force of a draft of air directed against the same, so that they can be moved to opening position easier than if they would be pivoted about a horizontal axis.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive comprises a frame structure 11 preferably of cast metal and having an outer circular flange 12 provided with openings 13, whereby this frame structure may be fixed to the wall of the building by suitable lag-screws 14 or the like. A proper fit of the frame structure in the opening of the building wall 15 is attained owing to the provision of an annular flange or bead 16 projecting, in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4, toward the building and facilitating the cementing of the cast metal frame 11 to the wall of the building. Another relatively heavy flange 17 projecting from the circular plate or flange 12 in a direction opposite to that of the flange or head 16 has, in the embodiment shown, an outer circular circumference, indicated at 18, and a polygonal internal perimeter, as indicated at 19. A circular flange 20 projects from the flange 12 inwardly and confines the circular exhaust opening 21. The edges of the vanes 25 are (when the vanes are closed) parallel with and adjacent to the polygonal circumference 19 of the flange 17 and are therefore also straight edges, but they may consist of broken lines, for instance, as indicated at 30, 31 in Fig. 3.

A member 22 substantially vertical, spans the opening confined by the polygonal line 19, and this bridge or web 22 preferably is inclined with respect to a plane defined by the front or rear surface of the frame structure, so as to have its lower end at a greater distance from the inner surface of the frame structure than the upper end. As shown in Fig. 3, this web or bridge 22 also is of differ ent width at its two ends, the width gradually decreasing from the upper end toward the lower end. The two lateral edges 23 of the bridge have equal inclination with respect to the longitudinal central line of the bridge. Between its ends the bridge 22 is provided with an enlargement or hub 24 which serves for supporting the mechanism whereby the vanes may be opened or closed simultaneously.

The various vanes 25 are supported in this frame structure on pivots 26, the axes of which are substantially parallel to the lateral edges 23 of the central web or bridge, so that these vanes also are arranged slantingly with respect to a plane parallel to the plane of the frame opening and with respect to a vertical plane. The pivots 26 are in sorted in suitable passages 27 in opposite portions of the flange 17, and may be held there in in any suitable way. The vanes 25 preferably are constructed of light, non-corrosive sheet metal, and are turned at one of their longitudinal marginal portions so as to form sleeves 28 which surround the pivots, whereby upon a movement of air directed against the inner surface of these vanes the latter will be swung about their pivots to discharge the air through the circular opening 21 of the structure.

For the purpose of controlling the vanes on both sides of the bridge with each move ment of any vane on either side thereof a doublearmed lever 33 is rotatably mounted at the inner end of the hub 2% projecting from the member 22. The free ends of this double-armed lever are movably connected with the vanes at the right side and at the left side of the web 22 through a plurality of links 34-, 35 which in their turn are flexibly connected with brackets 36 rigidly attached to surface portions of the vanes 25.

If air is directed, for instance, toward the surface of the vanes at the left hand side of the central web 22, as shown in Fig. 2, the vanes will be swung about their pivotal supports which slant laterally and rearwardly, and owing to their movable connections 36, 35, 34 with the arms of the central lever 33, said central lever will be turned about its pivot; this rotation of the central lever will cause a swinging motion of, the other links 34, 35 connected therewith, and this motion will be transmitted to the vanes 25 on the right hand side of the web 22. Nhen the vanes at opposite sides are swung about their pivots, symmetrically located vanes will form a dihedral angle with respect to the plane of the opening 21.

According to Fig. 5, the frame structure is arranged similar to the arrangement shown in Fig. 4-. An additional sill 40, however, is added to the wall 15 in which the frame structure 11 is supported. This sill may then serve to hold a screen 41 or the like to prevent injury to the shutter mechanism.

The modification illustrated in section in Fig. 6 is distinguished from the embodiment of the invention described and shown with 1'efe1en'ce"toFigsf 1- m4 by'thefact that the supporting flange i7 for the vanes is iiiserted" into the opeiiing of ltliifwall' 15 in: steadjfofbeing QIiTthe" outsidethere of,'j thfi1's" providing" a firme supportfbi' the each side of the I webf22', asjsliown" in 1 and 3', i fitni j modification two; vanes 25' are only" arrangediatjeach side thereof, the support of these vanes in the frame stru'c are 111 be g simi mim s iiip t closedlwith respectQ-to Figsje and In this'instancejalso the actuationor oscillatio'n' of the" ya tion of one of the va fsj about its pivotal axis, asimilarosdillat g movement is imf parted through'tlie' linkflfi conn cting this vane with t-he next v'a'negfl A. Corresponding movement is" then transmitted to the vanes, 25'" at; at, other si'dc Qfflithe bridge. 22; through thelle'v ei'f g which is rotatably 1no'nnted in theweb.

25' this mddification aretwistedflabout their longitudinal axis, so as to" reinforce this rigid connection between the movable links 45fandthe vanesi' It will also be seen that the inner varies ha'veT'their free edges tly-M s t s ast f m a b ad ch,

when the vanes'are in clos edposition, over} lies the pivotal sleeve 28 of the adjacent vane 25 and thereby effects a closure of the entire shutter opening when the blower is inoperative.

Instead of providing pivot pins which pass from one side of the polygonal flange to the other side thereof, this pivotal connection may also be provided, as shown in Fig. 10, merely by inserting a screw 47 having an extension 48 at its lower end through a portion of the flange 17. The pivotal friction is thereby reduced considerably, and owing to the alinement of these screws at opposite points of the flange (not shown) a satisfactory pivotal support is attainable. The removal of any vane for the purpose of repair or exchange is facilitated, as it is then only necessary to withdraw one of the screws 47 on which the sleeves 26 of these vanes are supported.

We claim:

1. A shutter mechanism for ventilating fans, comprising in combination with a frame structure having a shutter opening,

It" will be seen that instead of havi g three vanes :25 t

aplurality of'oscillatory' vanes located when in closed position in a plane slanting with respect totlie plane ofsaid opening, andfa' plurality of pivotal supports for saidvane's permitting a" swinging movementof the 1!. same about l1116S lnclined with respect to ing with're'spect to the planeo'f the opening and with'r'espectto a central vertical plane through sald opening.

3; Ina's'h' aermechanism for ventilating fans, thecombination with a frame struc tur'ejhavlng an annular flangewlth an inner polygonal circumference, oscillatory vanes having theiredges adjacent to and parallel with the circumferential lines of said olyg onal opening, and pivots for supporting the varies with their axes of escalation i a downwardly and outwardly slanting direction.

,4. In, a shutter mechanism for ventilating fans, tlie combination of a m ne structure having a polygonal portion confined by flange, a plural ty of vanes symmetrically disposed with respect to a central line ,c'on

necting directly opposite portions of the said flange, pivots slanting from an upper portion of said to a, lower portion,

thereof, the vanes being mountedon' said pivots, and m ans; for imparting: syin metri; cal movement to symmetrically located vanes."

I 5. Ina shutter mechanism for ventilating fans,' the combination of a frame structure having a. shutter opening and polygonal flange, a bridge spanning said flange, a plurality of vanes located on each side of said bridge and adapted to close the said opening, a plurality of pivots extending in slanting direction from upper and inner portions of the flange to lower and outer portions of the same, and means for transmitting motion of a vane from one side of said bridge to the symmetrically located vane on the other side of said bridge.

6. In a shutter mechanism for ventilating fans, the combination of a frame structure having a polygonal flange surrounding a shutter opening, a bridge spanning said opening and slanting in direction from the inner surface of the frame structure outwardly, a plurality of vanes located in the plane of said bridge, and a plurality of pivots inclined laterally and outwardly sup porting said vanes.

7. In a shutter mechanism for ventilating fans, the combination of a frame structure having an opening, a bridge slanting in'di rection from the inner surface of said frame structure to the outer surface of the same and spanning the opening in vertical direction, the lateral edges of the bridge converging downwardly, a plurality of vanes, and pivots supporting said vanes, the pivots on each side of said bridge being parallel to the lateral edge to which they are adjacent.

8. In a shutter mechanism for ventilating fans, the combination of a frame structure having an opening surrounded by a flange, a bridge spanning said opening from above downwardly and slanting from the inner plane of the flange toward the outer plane, vanes arranged at both sides of the bridge, pivots for said vanes slanting in the same direction as the bridge and at the same time slanting from above downwardly in direction toward the axis of the bridge, said vanes being mounted on said pivots, and means mounted on the bridge for transferring a movement of one of said vanes to the other vanes.

9. In a shutter mechanism for ventilating fans, the combination of a frame structure having a central opening surrounded by a flange which has a circular circumference and a polygonal inner circumference, a bridge spanning said opening and slanting from one plane of the flange toward the other plane thereof, the edges of said bridge converging downwardly, pivots mounted on each side of the bridge in the said flange, vanes loosely supported on said pivots and overlapping each other, a central hub on said bridge, a lever rotatably mounted on said hub, and links connecting the ends of said lever with several vanes, whereby movement of one of said vanes is transmitted'to another vane.

10. In a shutter mechanism for ventilating fans, the combination of a frame structure having a central opening surrounded by a flange which has a polygonal inner circumference, a bridge spanning said open ing and slanting from one plane of the flange in direction toward theother plane thereof, a plurality of pivots supported in said flange, a plurality of vanes supported by said pivots and slanting in a direction parallel to the slant of the bridge, a doublearined lever centrally pivoted on the bridge, and brackets rigidly attached to the vanes, and links connecting said brackets with each other and with the lever on the bridge.

11. In a shutter mechanism for ventilating fans, the combination of a frame structure having a central circular opening surrounded by a flange which has a circular outer circumference and an octagonal inner circumference, a bridge spanning said opening and slanting in direction from one plane of the flange toward the other plane of the same, said bridge being provided with con verging lateral edges, two pivots at each side of said bridge and extending in a direction parallel to the lateral edge of the bridge near which they are located, vanes loosely supported on said pivots, brackets rigidly attached to the vanes, links connecting said brackets, a doublearmed lever pivotally mounted on the bridge, and links connecting free ends of said lever with the first mentioned links.

JOSEPH E. TRUITT. EMIL ACKERMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patentl, Washington, D. G. 

